President Trump visits the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, Mississippi, on December 9, 2017.
The museum's mission is to document and exhibit the history of, and educate the public about, the American Civil Rights Movement in the statebetween 1945 and 1970.(Photo: Nicholas Kamm, AFP/Getty Images)

"I didn't have the courage to do what they did," former justice Anderson told the president about the Tougaloo Nine, college students who held a sit-in at the whites-only Jackson Public Library in 1961. "They took their lives in their hands."

Trump slowly nodded his head and said little as he walked through an exhibit room dedicated to the Freedom Riders, the walls lined with police mugshots of those who were arrested and beaten (three were later murdered) for pushing for voting rights for African Americans in Mississippi in the 1960s.

Trump was uncharacteristically reserved during his brief visit to Jackson on Saturday — a visit arranged by Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant for the state's bicentennial celebration and opening of two long-planned state landmarks, the Civil Rights and Mississippi History museums.

Trump's visit to the Civil Rights Museum brought protest and boycotts. Some state and national leaders, including civil rights veteran U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia (who was beaten and jailed in Jackson in 1961 as a Freedom Rider), U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus and Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba refusing to attend the event because of Trump.

Trump did not mention the protests or boycotts in his 9-minute speech to an invitation-only crowd of dignitaries and civil rights veterans. He eschewed politics of the day — also uncharacteristic — and gave an erudite speech to several-hundred people before the main ceremony outside the museum attended by thousands.

"These buildings embody the hope that has lived in the hearts of every American for generations," Trump said. "The hope for a future that is more just and is more free ... Here we memorialize the brave men and women who struggled to sacrifice, and sacrifice so much, so that others might live in freedom."

Trump said the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was "a man who I studied and watched and admired for my entire life," and he praised James Meredith, for integrating the University of Mississippi, and the Tougaloo Nine. He called America's civil rights activists "true American heroes."

"And finally, martyrs like Sgt. Medgar Wiley Evers, whose brother (Charles) I just met at the plane, and who I like a lot," Trump said. He noted Medgar Evers, the Mississippi NAACP field secretary who was assassinated in 1963, joined the Army and fought in Normandy during World War II before "he came back to Mississippi and kept fighting for the same rights and freedoms he fought for in the war.

"Mr. Evers was assassinated by a member of the KKK in the driveway of his own home," Trump said.

Trump recognized and praised Myrlie Evers-Williams, Evers' widow and also a national civil rights leader and driving force behind the museum.

"I just want to say hello to Myrlie," Trump said as the crowd gave her a standing ovation.

"Today we pay solemn tribute to our heroes of the past and dedicate ourselves to build a future of freedom, equality, justice and peace," Trump said.

Trump was accompanied on his Mississippi visit by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and his wife, Candy. The president was met at Thompson Field by a crowd of more than 100 people, including a welcoming committee that included Bryant, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper, Charles Evers, Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. and Pascagoula Mayor Dane Maxwell, Trump's Mississippi campaign director.

Trump promptly left the museums after his speech, headed back to the airfield and boarded Air Force One. He was in Mississippi from 10:11 a.m. until 11:37 a.m.

Bryant, as he awaited Trump's arrival Saturday, noted it was a big day for Mississippi and for himself.

President Donald Trump gives remarks on Dec. 9, 2017, at an event commemorating Mississippi's 200th year as a state and the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the Mississippi Museum of History.
Justin Sellers, The Clarion-Ledger

Snow blankets the plaza of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, MS as workers prepare the grounds for opening day ceremonies on Dec 8, 2017. The museum opened on Dec. 9, 2017, visited by President Trump and other dignitaries.
Sarah Warnock, Clarion Ledger via USA TODAY NETWORK

NAACP President Derrick Johnson, right, speaks with Dr. Robert Smith, former president of the Medical Committee for Human Rights, after a speech on Dec. 9, 2017, denouncing the visit of President Donald Trump in Jackson, Miss., for the opening of twin history and civil rights museums marking Mississippi's bicentennial.
Jeff Amy, AP

Myrlie Evers, widow of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, left, and former Gov. William Winter, confer during the state's bicentennial celebration and the grand opening ceremony for the two museums, the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum on Dec. 9, 2017, in Jackson, Miss.
Rogelio V. Solis, AP

Civil rights activist and widow of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, Myrlie Evers speaks at the grand opening ceremony. She said if the state can rise to the occasion, then "the rest of the country should be able to do the same thing."
Rogelio V. Solis, AP

Various current and past public officials join Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, second from right, and Myrlie Evers, center, civil rights activist and widow of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, as they cut open the oversized ribbon symbolizing the opening of the two museums, the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum on Dec. 9, 2017, in Jackson, Miss.
Rogelio V. Solis, AP

Mississippi flag demonstrators stand along a ledge at the Energy Plaza where the state's bicentennial celebration and the grand opening ceremony for the two museums, the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, was held on Dec. 9, 2017, in Jackson, Miss. The protesters are seeking the removal of the Confederate battle flag emblem from the flag and support a different symbol entirely.
Rogelio V. Solis, AP

A supporter of President Donald Trump stands outside the entrance of the state's two new museums, the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum on Dec. 9, 2017, in Jackson, Miss., hoping for a glimpse of Trump, who toured the museums and addressed a select group inside the facility's auditorium.
Rogelio V. Solis, AP

"We think it's a little unfortunate that a moment like this that could be used for unification and for bringing people together, some folks are choosing to play politics with it, but that's not going to deter us from honoring heroes in the civil rights movement."

Former Hinds County Supervisor George Smith, who registered to vote at the behest of Medgar Evers, said he was pleased to hear Trump's praise of civil rights veterans on Saturday.

But he's waiting to hear what Trump says when he returns to Washington and hopes he will “answer the ills we face today, problems with civil rights, education, health care — not only black but poor people, especially in a state like Mississippi.”